Friday, February 27th, 2026 - Clinton testimony leak; Iran talks resume; Vance freezes MN Medicaid; Netflix withdraws bid

Morning Announcements

Betches

News, Daily News, Politics, News Commentary

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s Headlines: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the House Oversight Committee in the first of two days of Epstein-related depositions involving the Clintons. The closed-door hearing was briefly paused after Rep. Lauren Boebert leaked a photo of Clinton testifying to right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson, who posted it online. Clinton later told reporters she “did not know Jeffrey Epstein” and criticized the committee for not calling individuals more prominently named in Epstein files. She also said lawmakers repeatedly questioned her about UFOs and “Pizzagate.” Meanwhile, U.S.–Iran nuclear talks resumed in Geneva, with officials describing discussions as “positive,” even as concerns linger about potential military escalation. In New York, Columbia University student Elmina Aghayeva was detained by ICE agents inside her campus housing after agents reportedly misrepresented themselves to gain entry. She was later released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was meeting with Donald Trump at the White House regarding housing investment proposals. Vice President JD Vance announced a pause on $259 million in Medicaid funding allocated to Minnesota, signaling potential broader funding freezes. In Kansas, the Republican-controlled legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to enact a law invalidating updated gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates for transgender residents. In media and tech, Netflix withdrew its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount’s higher offer. AI company Anthropic announced it is dropping its 2023 voluntary safety pledge amid competitive pressure. More than 1,800 companies have filed lawsuits seeking refunds for Trump-era tariffs ruled illegal, totaling roughly $130 billion. Finally, Trump also invoked the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, despite ongoing litigation linking the herbicide to cancer, and a new military readiness report additionally calls for major Pentagon reforms in cybersecurity, procurement, and tech modernization. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: NYT: Hillary Clinton Denies Knowing Epstein or His Crimes in a Tense Deposition Axios: U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were "positive," senior U.S. official says NBC News: Columbia president says student was detained by DHS agents who claimed they were looking for missing child PBS: Mamdani pitches Trump on housing investments by mocking up newspaper with his name in the headline Axios: Trump admin cites fraud in freezing Minnesota Medicaid funds CJ Online: Kansas invalidates IDs and birth certificates of transgender people The Hollywood Reporter: Netflix Backs Out of Warner Bros. Bidding, Paramount Set to Win Time: Anthropic Drops Flagship Safety Pledge WSJ: The $130 Billion Race for Companies to Get Their Tariff Money Back NYT: Trump Order Aims to Boost Weedkiller Targeted in Health Lawsuits Axios: Exclusive: U.S. must overhaul military readiness and tech metrics, report urges Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:34.1	Today is Friday, February 27th, and you're listening to the morning announcements
0:35.6	presented by Betches Media.
0:37.5	I'm your host, Sammy Sage, and the morning announcements is your daily five-minute breakdown
0:41.0	of the headlines that isn't a megaphone for the loudest voices, but a magnifying glass
0:45.1	for the most important news.
0:50.2	Yesterday was the first of two days of Epstein-related testimony by the Clintons in front of the House Oversight Committee.
0:56.0	The first big news we got out of the deposition came midday, after Representative Lauren Bobert, who was on the committee, leaked a photo of Hillary testifying to the right-wing podcaster and former Russian contractor Benny Johnson, which he posted online immediately.
1:11.4	The deposition was then paused because, seriously, the Republicans literally insisted on this being
1:16.7	a closed hearing, and now they're going to leak it. Of course they will. As of this recording,
1:21.2	the transcript and videos from the day's testimony were not yet released, though they are expected
1:25.2	to be. So Hillary came outside to brief the press
1:27.8	after the hearing ended and described the day. To start, she reiterated, quote,
1:32.2	I don't know how many times I can say I did not know Jeffrey Epstein, and that the committee
1:36.2	has made, quote, little effort to call the people who have been named the most in the Epstein
	...

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